OP-ED: Shared responsibility in a fragmented world – by Espen Barth Eide, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Norway

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OP-ED: Shared responsibility in a fragmented world – by Espen Barth Eide, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Norway

10:56 CAT | 09 Oct 2025

Photo courtesy: Royal Norwegian Embassy, Maputo

At the recent Nordic-African Foreign Ministers meeting in Victoria Falls, we reaffirmed our shared commitment to defending the multilateral system, international law and human rights. In a time of deepening global divides, this partnership is more than symbolic – it is essential.

The Nordic-African relationship is built on decades of solidarity. For the Nordics, colonialism was occupation—a violation of international law and human dignity. This understanding shaped our support for liberation movements across Southern Africa. Civil society, churches, students and unions mobilized in solidarity. My own political journey began in the Norwegian anti-apartheid movement some 45 years ago.

This people-to-people engagement laid the foundation for long-term cooperation. From supporting peace in Sudan to backing regional bodies like the AU, SADC and IGAD, our partnership has evolved. Norway remains a consistent partner—politically and economically. We continue to allocate 1% of our GNI to development assistance.

Today, our cooperation focuses increasingly on investment, trade and private sector development. Institutions like The Norwegian Investment Fund for Developing Countries (Norfund) and our Government Pension Fund Global are active across the continent, reflecting our commitment to long-term engagement.

But our meeting in Victoria Falls took place against a troubling backdrop. The war in Sudan has created the world’s largest humanitarian crisis. Eastern DRC suffers from violence driven by internal and external actors. Sahel and the Horn of Africa remain fragile. The people of Palestine are victims of massive violations of international law and extreme levels of violence. Likewise, Russia’s war against Ukraine is a blatant violation of the UN Charter.

These crises are not isolated. They reflect a deeper erosion of the rules-based international order. When governments cherry-pick which violations to condemn, they undermine the very system meant to protect us all. To condemn Russia’s aggression in Russia while remaining silent on Israel’s bombing in Gaza is inconsistent. The opposite is equally dangerous. The same applies to selective criticism in Sudan or Eastern DRC.

Norway’s position is clear. We condemn violations of international law wherever they occur—whether in Ukraine, Palestine or in Africa. We reject double standards, not only in conflict, but also in development financing and global tax justice. The credibility of the multilateral system depends on consistency and fairness.

Building trust across regions is not easy. But it is necessary. The Nordic-African partnership is a model of what global cooperation can look like: rooted in mutual respect, shared responsibility, and a belief that justice must be universal.

Norway will continue to play a bridging role—between North and South, between regions and institutions. In fact, the division of the world into regional blocs like “North” and “South” makes less sense today. The world is full of challenges that can only be solved together, like climate change and pandemics. Maybe the more important division between countries is not based on geography but rather based on whether one tries to defend core principles in international law and look for common solutions. We believe that multilateralism is not just a diplomatic tool, but a moral imperative. Together, we must defend it.